Is it more expensive to eat healthy?

AngelaKelly02

I think so, my grocery bill is now $500 a fortnight, previously it was $300-$400. The extra cost for me comes from buying meat, and I'm a bit fussy about having my turkery and chicken free range and that kind of thing. Before I changed my eating habits we were probably only eating meat once or twice a week.

michelle7673

I've seen both sides. If I go to Whole Foods (which in the US is a pricey specialty/organic grocer), and buy everything in sight, every veg I see, it's a fortune. I think I did it because I thought "I need a lot of options or I'll eat junk". And half of it went bad. What really fixed that was meal planning a week or more at a time, and planning for leftovers. I do shop farmers markets, and while I'm not sure, honestly, that it's cheaper than the supermarket, but I like it better in numerous ways. The other thing that lowered the cost a LOT for us is not buying soda.

kylTKe

Well, don't forget that eating a crummy diet comes with the added medical expenses later on in life. Plus(I'm going for it) your health and happiness are priceless, right?

Seriously though eating healthy food is super cheap in a lot of cases (eggs, chicken, veggies, fruit, etc...). It'll only be more expensive if you make it more expensive.

BearHugger78

So much depends on what you were eating before and what you're eating now (including the quality you're looking for, whether it's organic or not, and so on), who else you're feeding, as well as your daily calorie needs.

I rarely ate out much anyway, so I escaped a lot of overpriced meals even when I was eating poorly. Several days a week I was eating (a whole ... or more) frozen pizza, which can be a very cheap 1500 calories. When Tombstones would go on sale "4 for $10" I'd buy as many as I could fit in the freezer. 600 calories per dollar ... there's nothing currently in my house with anything near that kind of, er, "value".

Overall I estimate I spend two to four times as much per day now than I did before I decided to eat healthier. On top of that, things such as gas money -- I make more frequent trips to more stores -- and the time spent preparing food and cleaning up add additional costs of one form or another.

I wouldn't do it if I didn't think the investment in my health wasn't worth it, but it has undeniably been more expensive for me.

KayteeBear

Sort of, yes. Brown rice, 7 or 12 grain breads, whole wheat pasta, greek yogurt are all more expensive. Even milk is beginning to get expensive (I buy twice as much because I make my own yogurt). Buying vegetables and fruits in season isn't always an option when it's winter half the year here and nothing is in season then. A small bag of spinach is like $4 (I could make about one smoothie with the contents of that, maybe two).

It also depends where you live. I live in a small town with ONE grocery store (which surprisingly has a pretty good selection) and that means stuff is more expensive and I can't shop around for the best price.

However, you can work around it but still isn't always the best. I would love to buy more broccoli and cauliflower but it's expensive. I usually only buy cabbage, carrots, onions and potatoes for vegetables because that's the cheapest and they last the longest. Fruits, even when in season, can be pretty pricey (and frozen fruit is really expensive which sucks because I like making a lot of smoothies). I usually buy apples and bananas but during the summer strawberries go on sale so I'll buy a bunch to freeze for smoothies. Same with other fruits when they go on sale.

I eat fairly healthy on my budget, but I could eat really healthy if I could spend as much money as I want. Winter is definitely the hardest though. I'm hoping to put in a garden this summer so that should help a lot. Now it's only a matter of not killing everything I plant. lol

annbillingsley

It is WAY more expensive to eat healthy--that means no breads, rice, corn, potatoes and pasta fillers because they are junk! A head of lettuce is close to $4 and boneless skinless chicken breast is like $5 a lb! wayyyyyyyy cheaper to eat starchy fillers, and I usually cooked from scratch anyway. 3 or 4 oz of protein per meal leaves a helluva lot of calories you have to make up with healthy carbs and fats. I can easily go through a head of lettuce myself in a day, not including the other 3 in the family! and one crown of broccoli is $3 or more and that is basically one meal's worth for one person. NO WAY IN HELL is it cheaper to eat healthy!

quirkytizzy

My husband and I rarely go out to eat. My grocery bill has gone up a lot since I started eating healthy. I shop for groceries and have to buy all the unhealthy foods I bought before because my husband doesn't choose to eat this way. Then I buy the healthy food for me. So yeah, it costs a lot more. But I am going to keep doing it. I have only lost 6 or 7 pounds so far but I'm liking this healthy way of eating. By this time next year, I hope to tell you about the 100 pounds I lost.

This is where I find eating healthy expensive, too. My BF and I only have the money to buy one set of foods, and since he's the pickier eater, (and I'll eat anything - seriously, I'm nearly a human garbage disposal), we buy the foods he will eat. Which aren't terribly healthy. So I practice the hell out of portion control.

I'd like to buy myself healthier foods, but I just don't have the money to stretch like that.

littlelily613

Whoever thinks that eating at fast food places is cheaper than cooking healthy foods at home is either insane or has their head buried in the sand. Most of my weight came from fast food. An average meal around here would cost at least 10$ at a fast food joint. I mean, unless you get something like a kid's meal. I eat WAY cheaper now that I've stopped wasting my money on fast food. Perhaps if I was feeding a family, it might seem more expensive, but it is just me, and I don't buy any of the fancy health-food products out there, just regular items that are considered healthy.

jmadamczyk

I spend roughly 30 dollars a week on food for myself.

I've been waiting for a post like this one because I wanted to share how I do it. i buy fruits and veggies that are frozen.

Now I know this isn't as nice as fresh, but when you're poor (and cheap) I believe it really is the best alternative.

Breakfast-

I usually eat a cup of fruit for breakfast and toast. I buy a big frozen bag of berries from Kroger for 12 bucks and then usually a smaller one of strawberries for 3 bucks. Sometimes the fruit varies, but I try to keep it under fifteen bucks.

I buy a loaf of bread from Nature's Own, which is usually 3 buck (18 so far). I usually eat the toast with my fruit in the morning and a cup of coffee. (I buy Kuereg coffee, but it comes out to 30 cents a cup. So lets round up to 3 dollars a week). We're at 21 dollars.

Kroger does 10 for 10 on bags of veggies. I usually buy five bags (I always get the spinach, brussel sprouts and broccoli. Sometimes I get carrots, sometimes peas, sometimes beats, it just depends). and then I buy a box of the boil in a bag brown rice (also 10 for ten dollars) and cook them all together. I mix up the concoction and use various spices for flavor. We're at 26 bucks.

For dinner, I usually sautee some of my frozen veggies and use spices to make it taste good. Sometimes I buy veggies in a can and make my own soup. Sometimes I make veggie tortillas using corn tortillas (about 3 dollars for six). I suppose it's easier because I am trying to eat as vegan as I can without breaking the bank.

I am also extremely poor and 30 dollars is about all I can spend on myself. My husband costs about 50 and my son's formula costs almost 50 dollars a week. So i really have to spend as little as I can on myself. Where there is a will, there's a way.

annbillingsley

So much depends on what you were eating before and what you're eating now (including the quality you're looking for, whether it's organic or not, and so on), who else you're feeding, as well as your daily calorie needs.

I rarely ate out much anyway, so I escaped a lot of overpriced meals even when I was eating poorly. Several days a week I was eating (a whole ... or more) frozen pizza, which can be a very cheap 1500 calories. When Tombstones would go on sale "4 for $10" I'd buy as many as I could fit in the freezer. 600 calories per dollar ... there's nothing currently in my house with anything near that kind of, er, "value".

Overall I estimate I spend two to four times as much per day now than I did before I decided to eat healthier. On top of that, things such as gas money -- I make more frequent trips to more stores -- and the time spent preparing food and cleaning up add additional costs of one form or another.

I wouldn't do it if I didn't think the investment in my health wasn't worth it, but it has undeniably been more expensive for me.

^^^^THIS completely! I got the most caloric bang for my buck, so spending $12 for a bag of grapes that will last 3 days max in lunches versus $12 worth of knock-off brand junk that would last for a couple weeks in lunches plus snacks is obviously WAY more expensive!!!!

gfedex

I think I am a minority here. I am young, pretty much poor and living in a house with 4 other adults. I work a lot as does everyone else. I can tell you that the cost to buy and prepare all of our meals (Lunches/breakfast/Dinner) Is a lot more expensive with healthy food.

Buying lettuce/fresh veggies for a salad plus eggs or other protein to put in it for a lunch is a lot more expensive than packing a can of ravioli (knock off brand) or a pack of ramen.

I am trying to buy healthy food, but it is breaking our bank.

I'm in a similar situation. Do I eat healthy? Sure- but it's the same sweet potatoes, eggs, oranges and tuna on a daily basis. I do what I can- shopping the sales, not going out to eat- but it's hard when you're trying to exercise and get enough to fuel workouts. I can manage because it's just me, but I can't imagine trying to feed a family on a very limited budget.

I agree that to prepping meals from scratch is cheaper than takeouts and restaurants, *if* you already had the disposable income to go out for meals and are switching to homemade stuff. If not, it's a bit irrelevant- and the dozen hotdogs, boxed macaroni, white bread and cheap peanut butter could be a week's worth of breakfast and dinner for a low-income family. Eating healthy now has long-term benefits, but if the budget only calls for things that can keep your kids from going to bed hungry, I'd imagine that would take precedence over organic spinach.

CharityGC

I don't think it's more expensive to buy healthy foods. Since I started shopping and cooking more from scratch, my food bills haven't gone up. I just spend more on certain things which means I spend less on others. I also shop the sales, a lot. Whatever fruits and veggies are on sale this week are what we eat. I meal plan from the sale papers and, while it takes some time, it is better for us health wise and financially.

Curvynerdgirl

From what I have found, it really depends on what you are buying, where you are buying it, and how many you are feeding: For example, Organic will always cost more from what I have found. That is why I tend to only buy organic when it is on sale and I can get a good deal. Other times, I just scrub the heck out of what I am eating. Additionally, Meat also tends to be expensive, especially when you are buying lean or organic. I feed three people, not just myself, and get by approximately on 80-100 bucks a week. Granted, this is including non food items that are just basic necessities. Many studies have shown however poverty and Obesity are tied for a reason. For example, one person cited the list of vegetables they bought for 25 bucks, but those veggies alone would not feed my family. However, a few boxes of Kraft mac and cheese will feed my family for a week for five dollars, or less. Its about u picking and choosing what you are willing to spend money on. For example- bread. I love bread. My husband loves bread. But I hate wheat ( I know, I know, its healthier...but it's taste, no matter the brand, tastes harsh to me. I like white). We compromised and started buying a brand called Portland French Bakery. Very short list of ingredients, all things that look like they belong in bread and NO SUGAR!

Again, its doable, but yes, I think if you don't have resources to research and many mouths to feed, it can get expensive.

If you are looking to eat healthy, I recommend Cooks Illustrated Healthy Family Cook Book. Great, easy, doable recipes that do not skimp on flavor or quality. Also, the five dollar dinner mom is pretty good. The series EAT THIS, NOT THAT is excellent. Hit up your local library as there are a plethora of books to help you out in this area

c2111

im making carrot soup for dinner costing about $1.50 and serves 4 ! 500g carrots $99 cents 100 g red lentils 50 cents, stock cube, 20 cents, garlic ginger dash of oi, waterl and thats it.

Learn how to cook and manage your money.

Also 1 bag of corn kernals makes a he ll of a lot of popcorn costs $ 3.00 and makes a lot of serves probably 10
a bag of chips is $3.00 here

i save a lot of money approx 28 bucks by making my own healthy popcorn

raquel424

I guess it depends where you are in regards to availability of import vs local produce where prices make a difference between the two. I cook from scratch every night for a family of 4 but I haven't seen a dramatic expense increase since I started buying less canned/boxed/ready meals food and more fresh. Separate ingredients make you more than one meal. Planning i find is the biggest money savor, I make a menu for the week on the fridge, only shop for the missing ingredients I need and stick to that. When any meats are on sale, I buy an extra or two and freeze. Also because I don't want to be in the kitchen for hours every night, I tend to have 3-4 meal that take a lot of work and then simple quick meals that are cheap still healthy for the rest of the week.

Best of luck

NanaWubbie

I am finding it is NOT as expensive to eat healthy. With the junk, you tend to eat more....more food, more expensive.

SprinkledWithEmotion

I try to eat fruits and vegetables that are in season and that helps a lot. I make a lot of things from scratch instead of highly processed convenience foods. I think I spend less on food then I did before, maybe 'cause I eat less of it.

Lifting_Knitter

I spend less on healthy. even though I was shopping once a week for groceries and spent less at the time, we ran through the junk faster and I would make daily trips to the store so it ended up being more expensive.

jbonow1231

Part of this depends on where you live. If you live in a dreaded "food desert" in a big inner city, just getting to a place that sells produce of any kind can be a challenge, so you have to add transportation costs onto the cost of the food.

For me, one of the biggest changes in cost after switching to healthier eating and further being diagnosed as gluten intolerant, is that I am a big coupon fan - and while I still average about 30% savings with my couponing, it certainly isn't the cart-fulls of free food you can manage when you are eating lower quality food - as that what the most coupons are available for. I mean case in point - how often do you find coupons off fresh produce (though Earthbound Farms offers a coupon every other week or so.)

But - I'm still working on learning to cook more from scratch. I made my first batch of homemade gluten free muffins the other day. So - the price might drop more once I don't need to buy as many "convenience" foods, even if they are of a more healthy variety.

JaceyMarieS

I've found it to be MUCH cheaper to eat healthy - my grocery bill is 1/2 what it was. Much of the savings can be attributed to the fact that i actually cook now. I used to plan a menu, shop for groceries and then go out instead - lots of waste. And my food lasts longer - I don't sit down and eat a bag of apples ($2.99), but I used to routinely sit down and polish off a bag of potato chips ($2.89)

I do stock up as much as possible. A local butcher just featured boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.69/lb - $.30 cheaper than any weekly sale from any local grocery including Aldi's. the catch was that you had to purchase 35 lbs, which I was happy to do. the same butcher featured NY strip steaks for $3.99/lb - you had to purchase a whole loin, but the butcher cut to order and vacuum-sealed the individual steaks. I stock up on frozen veggies when they are sale for $1/bag.

bostonwolf

Dried beans (lentils, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, etc) are the key to eating cheap.

You also need to buy a whole chicken and roast it instead of parts, then make stock/broth with the bones and carcass. That stock will be used to cook the beans and make them much more flavorful.

Once the farmer's markets start up again (I'm in the northeast US, so they only run June through October) you can find some good deals if you focus on buying seasonal. And once tomatoes come into season and they have more than they can sell, load up and make sauce with them and freeze it.

For those really interested in learning how to eat cheap, check out this blog:

http://thirtyaweek.wordpress.com/

hasn't been updated recently but the older posts have plenty of great tips on eating cheap and eating well.

kwagganin

In south africa fresh produce is cheaper. Farmers produce most of the veg, fruits, seeds and meats. High quality meats is obiously more expensive. We buy meat at a butchery. More for less. Grocery store meat is more expensive for less kg and the quality isn't so great. Electricity bill is killing us more (majority of south africans still use electrical stoves and electricity is VERY expensive). This is our veg, fruit and meat bill a month. fruit and veg - R(south african rand) 1500 . Meat - R 1500. R1500/R8.50(us dollar exchange rate $1 = R8.50) = $176.4 . So our fresh produce plus meat is $352.8 for a month and a half worth food.